Country diary + Matt Shardlow | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/country-diary+profile/matt-shardlow
model.DotcomContentType$TagIndex$@395aae39en-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Thu, 24 May 2018 17:54:42 GMT2018-05-24T17:54:42Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Country diary: the cuckoo in the mining bee's nesthttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/22/country-diary-mining-bees-nomad-cuckoo-bees-northamptonshire
<p><strong>Lower Benefield, Northamptonshire:</strong> When the two eggs hatch, the nomad bee larva’s sickle-shaped jaws make short work of the mining bee larva</p><p>Our delayed spring, when it arrived, came in a sudden burst. Each insect species has a calendar slot for emerging from hibernation. For many bees good timing ensures that they emerge when their favourite flowers are opening. For the chocolate mining bee (<em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrena_scotica">Andrena scotica</a></em>), a large, shiny, dark bee that nests in Benefield lawns and banks, success is awaking when the blackthorn blossom bursts. </p><p>The thaw triggered an explosion of flowers and insects that in warmer years would have emerged in March and early April, all arrived at once. My car windscreen accrued a sparse smattering of ex-insect life, and others reported similar. It is odd to celebrate pointless high-speed fatalities, but they represent an echo of the richer aerial plankton of past decades, and thereby a flicker of hope for the future.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/28/diligent-insects-summer-garden-bees-country-diary">Diligent insects in the summer garden</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/22/country-diary-mining-bees-nomad-cuckoo-bees-northamptonshire">Continue reading...</a>BeesInsectsWild flowersEnvironmentWildlifeSpringTue, 22 May 2018 04:30:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/22/country-diary-mining-bees-nomad-cuckoo-bees-northamptonshirePhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoMatt Shardlow2018-05-22T04:30:44ZCountry diary: the buzz of springtimehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/24/country-diary-buzz-springtime-furrow-bees-peterborough
<p><strong>Ferry Meadows, Peterborough:</strong> The sun is shining and tiny furrow bees join other species feeding on pollen and nectar<br></p><p>Spring arrives on many small wings. During the winter insects could be accused of having resorted to being life in the undergrowth, but the freezing easterlies have passed and the gentle warmth of the sun releases the bees and flies from their deep slumbers to again become life in the air.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/02/floodplains-should-remain-just-that">Ferry Meadows, Peterborough: Floodplains that should remain just that</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/17/country-diary-harebell-bee-pollination-weardale">A harebell grapples with a freeloading furrow bee</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/24/country-diary-buzz-springtime-furrow-bees-peterborough">Continue reading...</a>SpringBeesWild flowersEnvironmentInsectsWildlifePeterboroughUK newsTue, 24 Apr 2018 04:30:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/24/country-diary-buzz-springtime-furrow-bees-peterboroughPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2018-04-24T04:30:10ZCountry diary: conflicted by the regimented lines of coppicinghttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/27/country-diary-regimented-lines-of-coppicing-barford-northampthonshire
<p><strong>Barford Wood and Meadows, Northamptonshire:</strong> Yes, the trees have established beautifully, but a randomness to the planting pattern would be more aesthetically pleasing</p><p>Again the landscape is etched with snow. The footpath to Barford Wood and Meadows from Rushton village crosses first under the Midland mainline, emerging on to a wide and exposed field where the chilled wind bites, before passing over the Corby branch line and on to <a href="https://www.wildlifebcn.org/reserves/barford-wood-and-meadows">the nature reserve</a>; a tapering wedge of land, bound on the west by the railway and by the thundering A43 on the east. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/27/country-diary-regimented-lines-of-coppicing-barford-northampthonshire">Continue reading...</a>Trees and forestsEnvironmentRural affairsUK newsSnowWorld newsWinterAnimalsFarmingTue, 27 Mar 2018 04:30:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/27/country-diary-regimented-lines-of-coppicing-barford-northampthonshirePhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2018-03-27T04:30:08ZCountry diary: with luck and help, the chequered skipper will rise againhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/23/country-diary-chequered-skipper-ashton-northamptonshire
<p><strong>Ashton, Northamptonshire:</strong> Woodland management changes did for this butterfly as the woods were drained, rides narrowed and glades shaded. But now it is to be reintroduced</p><p>This May the small brown and gold wings of the chequered skipper will once again beat in the woods of England. Susannah O’Riordan from <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/">Butterfly Conservation</a> is here in the butterfly’s spiritual home, the Chequered Skipper pub in Ashton, to reveal the plot to an enthusiastic audience of 80 or so.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/oct/15/best-autumn-walks-uk">20 great UK walks with pubs, chosen by nature writers</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/23/country-diary-chequered-skipper-ashton-northamptonshire">Continue reading...</a>ButterfliesEnvironmentInsectsWildlifeAnimalsWorld newsRural affairsUK newsFri, 23 Feb 2018 05:30:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/23/country-diary-chequered-skipper-ashton-northamptonshirePhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoMatt Shardlow2018-02-23T05:30:05ZCountry diary: snow has drained the forest of colourhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/26/country-diary-snow-has-drained-the-forest-of-colour
<p><strong>Glapthorn Cow Pastures, Northamptonshire:</strong> The naked winter wood seems vast and empty, silent but for the thick patter of melt drops</p><p>Snow, an inch or two, but a broken layer, mainly because the chill wind has plastered vertically. Swirling flurries fall still, but as the afternoon progresses, snow shifts into sleet, then freezing rain. A flock of 100 fieldfare hunt in an empty sheep pasture, scrutinising the half-buried sward for morsels of invertebrate food. Their backs dip and hunch above the snow as they tug and flick at detritus and vegetation. They do not look like good invertebrate-hunting conditions to me, but I hope these Scandinavian visitors are more adept than I and manage to fill their bellies. The fieldfare are accompanied by a single starling and an individual mistle thrush who, hopping erect through the snow and grass, appears to have adopted the role of lookout.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/26/country-diary-snow-has-drained-the-forest-of-colour">Continue reading...</a>Trees and forestsWinterEnvironmentNorthamptonBirdsAnimalsWildlifeUK newsFri, 26 Jan 2018 05:30:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/26/country-diary-snow-has-drained-the-forest-of-colourPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2018-01-26T05:30:37ZCountry diary: in Richard I's day this field was a hi-tech hubhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/22/country-diary-richard-i-abbey-wind-power-northamptonshire
<p><strong>Rockingham Forest, Northamptonshire</strong> Grass-covered earthworks are all that remain of an abbey that built one of England’s first windmills</p><p>Patches of snow persist in the most sheltered spots alongside Harpers Brook, the pasture dense with a complexity of mounds and earthworks that hints at a significant history. The sloping field by the grey limestone edifices of Pipewell Hall is crowned with a variety of trees, some fairly ancient, and a medley of a dozen horses and ponies come over to say hello; each in turn blowing gusts of warm breath on to the back of my hand, some lingering to gently nuzzle or allow a brief stroke.</p><p>A Cistercian community, <a href="http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=345997">St Mary de Divisis Abbey</a>, was established here in 1143. The monastery and cloisters were surrounded by many facilities – an infirmary, a bakery, a granary, a brewhouse, a quarry, a cemetery, a watermill, carp ponds and refuse pits. A little further to the west the community built one of the first English windmills. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/31/funding-boost-to-help-save-englands-rarest-species-from-extinction">Funding boost to help save England's rarest species from extinction</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/22/country-diary-richard-i-abbey-wind-power-northamptonshire">Continue reading...</a>Rural affairsTrees and forestsHeritageWind powerEnvironmentRenewable energyUK newsHuntingCultureFri, 22 Dec 2017 05:30:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/22/country-diary-richard-i-abbey-wind-power-northamptonshirePhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-12-22T05:30:44ZCountry diary: the remains of harlequin ladybirds suggest predation by a rodenthttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/24/country-diary-cavenham-heath-suffolk-the-remains-of-harlequin-ladybirds-suggest-predation-by-a-rodent
<p><strong>Cavenham Heath, Suffolk</strong> The woodland reveals beetles both common and rare, and a surprising pile of ladybird wings</p><p>Blue sky, still air and the winter sun have lifted the heavy overnight frost. <a href="http://www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/assets/Walks/Up-to-6-miles/Cavenham-Heath.pdf">Cavenham Heath</a> contains one of the largest blocks of heathland and acid grassland in the south-west Breckland, but the path from the car park starts in a predominantly birch woodland. Tearing a weathered birch polypore (<em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_betulina">Fomitopsis betulina</a></em>) from a standing trunk, I fumble through its white flesh. It is shot through with burrows and in places under the pale leathery skin it is dry and powdery, while elsewhere the fungus retains a tough marshmallow consistency.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/24/country-diary-cavenham-heath-suffolk-the-remains-of-harlequin-ladybirds-suggest-predation-by-a-rodent">Continue reading...</a>InsectsWildlifeEnvironmentRural affairsUK newsFungiAutumnWinterFri, 24 Nov 2017 05:30:22 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/24/country-diary-cavenham-heath-suffolk-the-remains-of-harlequin-ladybirds-suggest-predation-by-a-rodentPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-11-24T05:30:22ZCountry diary: prickly or bitter, wild lettuce is thrivinghttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/27/country-diary-wild-lettuce-fens-cambridgeshire
<p><strong><strong>Woodwalton Fen, Cambridgeshire</strong></strong> One magnificent specimen is a metre-wide rosette of oar-shaped leaves</p><p>Storm Brian has eased, but the gusts still rustle the sallow, alder and willow leaves and sway the reeds. The firmament transforms rapidly from broken ashen blankets to a solid leaden layer and then a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We strike south through a wooded area of the fen, towards the low sun glittering through the trees. </p><p>A fallen birch trunk hosts many <em>Fomes fomentarius</em>, a heavy-duty bracket fungus known as the hoof fungus. On the tree’s now vertical root-plate wild lettuce plants grow.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/27/country-diary-wild-lettuce-fens-cambridgeshire">Continue reading...</a>PlantsEnvironmentCambridgeConservationUK newsWild flowersFri, 27 Oct 2017 04:30:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/27/country-diary-wild-lettuce-fens-cambridgeshirePhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-10-27T04:30:20ZCountry diary: ancient survivors and wild dune edgeshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/22/ancient-survivors-and-wild-dune-edges-country-diary
<p><strong>Magilligan Point, County Derry </strong>The botany of the spit was once so rich that it was known as the ‘medicine garden of Europe’</p><p>The view from the top of the basalt outcrop of Windy Hill is sublime. Below, the flat expanse of Magilligan Point, County Derry, narrows into the distance as it almost reaches across the mouth of Lough Foyle to the heather-topped green hills and little white cottages of Donegal, six miles away. </p><p>Most of the sandy spit has been converted into grazed farmland, the field boundaries following the lines of ancient sand ridges deposited as the point has grown since the last ice age. A half-mile wide strip along the western edge, facing the Atlantic, is still wild sand dunes, tall and rough. A stiff breeze blows up and over the rocky ridge and to the east dark grey storm clouds roll.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/22/ancient-survivors-and-wild-dune-edges-country-diary">Continue reading...</a>CoastlinesNorthern IrelandPlantsLife and styleUK newsShellfishSeafoodRural affairsEnvironmentMarine lifeWildlifeFri, 22 Sep 2017 04:30:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/22/ancient-survivors-and-wild-dune-edges-country-diaryPhotograph: Markus Keller/AlamyPhotograph: Markus Keller/AlamyMatt Shardlow2017-09-22T04:30:37ZThe tent is a trap for a wasp used to flying up out of dangerhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/25/country-diary-wasp-behaviour-species
<p><strong>West Knoyle, Wiltshire </strong>It skitters up the fabric to the pinnacle, dropping down several feet then looping back up again, and again, and again</p><p>Taking respite from the hubbub of milling outdoor and bushcraft enthusiasts attending the Wilderness Gathering, I lie back under the shade of a conical bell tent. Gazing upwards into the canvas peak I watch a wasp skittering up the ivory fabric to the pinnacle, dropping down several feet then looping back up again, and again, and again.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/23/conservationists-slam-hateful-survey-promoting-wasp-killing">Conservationists slam 'hateful' survey promoting wasp killing</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/aug/07/in-praise-of-wasps">Editorial: In praise of… wasps</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/25/country-diary-wasp-behaviour-species">Continue reading...</a>Animal behaviourInsectsWildlifeBiologyEnvironmentConservationSummerFri, 25 Aug 2017 04:30:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/25/country-diary-wasp-behaviour-speciesPhotograph: William Harvey/Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: William Harvey/Alamy Stock PhotoMatt Shardlow2017-08-25T04:30:02ZBream sunbathe in Ælfgifu’s riverhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/28/bream-canute-england-roses-denmark-country-diary
<p><strong>Northamptonshire</strong> Canute’s queen would have known these fish but not the now local mink – or the roses that are taking over Denmark’s dunes</p><p>The broad river <a href="http://www.nenevalleynia.org/home/about-nene-valley-nia/">Nene</a> is ponded by a substantial weir to the south-east of Northampton. The deep water is still, clear and, at present, sunlit. The northern side of the river supports extensive patches of lily pads; they blast out green as the sun sparks and flashes between them. </p><p>The open water to the south side is occupied by great herds of <a href="http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/bream">bream</a> – big fish with pointed fins, vertically flattened bodies and jutting scaled heads. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/03/signal-crayfish-invader-cannibal-survivor">Signal crayfish – invader, cannibal, survivor</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/28/bream-canute-england-roses-denmark-country-diary">Continue reading...</a>RiversWildlifeInvasive speciesCoastlinesPlantsConservationEndangered speciesAnimalsUK newsDenmarkEnvironmentFishingSportEuropeFri, 28 Jul 2017 04:30:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/28/bream-canute-england-roses-denmark-country-diaryPhotograph: Jack Perks/AlamyPhotograph: Jack Perks/AlamyMatt Shardlow2017-07-28T04:30:16ZThe long-jump prize goes to … the froghopperhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/23/the-long-jump-prize-goes-to-the-froghopper
<p><strong>Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshir</strong><strong>e</strong> Hard to spot, sitting still under a leaf, these bugs on the move are jumping champions</p><p>As the morning sun heats the still woodland air the rides fizz with the sounds of flying insects: bumblebees buzz between bramble blossom and clover heads, a myriad of small flies zips through the air, and <a href="https://www.buglife.org.uk/activities-for-you/wildlife-surveys/longhorn-beetle-survey">longhorn beetles</a> whir and clatter around the dog roses. </p><p>Each species has its own habits and lifecycle that together constitute the intricate web of life in this ancient wood.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/23/the-long-jump-prize-goes-to-the-froghopper">Continue reading...</a>InsectsWildlifeConservationTrees and forestsSummerEnvironmentFri, 23 Jun 2017 04:30:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/23/the-long-jump-prize-goes-to-the-froghopperPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-06-23T04:30:15ZSkippers and kings in the chalk rubble reservehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/26/skippers-kings-chalk-rubble-reserve-rutland
<p><strong>Bloody Oaks Quarry, Rutland</strong> Sitting on a salad burnet flower head is a dingy skipper, then I find the royal blue chalk milkwort</p><p>This tiny nature reserve, <a href="http://www.lrwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/bloody-oaks-quarry/">a long thin quarry</a>, is no bigger than two football pitches, yet it is an essential home for many types of plants and animals. The colourful name apparently dates back to the Wars of the Roses and a 1470 battle between the Yorkist King Edward IV and the Lancastrian Welles family. The king opened by beheading Lord Welles, then launched a volley of new-fangled cannon fire, causing a rout, and concluded by slaughtering captured Lancastrians in the nearby wood.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/26/skippers-kings-chalk-rubble-reserve-rutland">Continue reading...</a>PlantsInsectsButterfliesWild flowersMiningFarmingEnvironmentWildlifeFri, 26 May 2017 04:30:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/26/skippers-kings-chalk-rubble-reserve-rutlandPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-05-26T04:30:02ZShifting ground has suited the colonieshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/28/shifting-ground-has-suited-the-colonies
<p><strong>Merry’s Meadows, Leicestershire</strong> Ancient disturbance created ridges and troughs, letting a wide range of plants colonise the meadow grassland</p><p>There is no better way to mark the land’s springtime rejuvenation than a sunny morning whiled away botanising in a floristically diverse meadow.</p><p><a href="http://www.lrwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/merrys-meadows/">Merry’s Meadows</a> – there are three fairly large fields – huddle together surrounded by a sea of bright yellow oilseed rape. The shallow corrugation of ridges and furrows indicate that a good proportion of the nature reserve was ploughed and cropped in mediaeval times. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/28/shifting-ground-has-suited-the-colonies">Continue reading...</a>PlantsFungiBiologyWildlifeEnvironmentScienceHeritageRural affairsUK newsFri, 28 Apr 2017 04:30:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/28/shifting-ground-has-suited-the-coloniesPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-04-28T04:30:01ZLives on the limestone: catkins and bugs in boleshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/24/lives-on-the-limestone-catkins-and-bugs-in-boles
<p><strong>Stoke Wood, Northamptonshire</strong> Hazel, as boles, can provide a rich hunting ground and my first unusual find is a pill millipede</p><p>The rolling limestone landscape exhibits the first signs of spring. Hawthorn buds burst with fresh green leaves and huge queen bumblebees career between blossoming sallow shrubs. Rockingham Forest once spanned these valleys and hills, and Stoke Wood is a salvaged fragment of that vast forest.</p><p>The wood has a rich ground flora; bluebell leaves push through in many areas, while elsewhere there are ankle-high seas of proud and pointed-leaved dog’s mercury, the plants already waving their unassuming tassels of green flowers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/24/lives-on-the-limestone-catkins-and-bugs-in-boles">Continue reading...</a>Trees and forestsSpidersWildlifeCoastlinesRural affairsEnvironmentUK newsFri, 24 Mar 2017 05:30:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/24/lives-on-the-limestone-catkins-and-bugs-in-bolesPhotograph: Keith M Law / Alamy/AlamyPhotograph: Keith M Law / Alamy/AlamyMatt Shardlow2017-03-24T05:30:24ZLaxton kites claw back their heritagehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/03/laxton-kites-claw-back-heritage-country-diary
<p><strong>Laxton, Northamptonshire</strong> The red kite thrives, and surely there’s no other prodigal English species that brings such pleasure</p><p>Kites soar and circle above the small limestone village mentioned in the Domesday book but rebuilt a little over 200 years ago to a design by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Humphry-Repton">Humphry Repton</a>. There is a substantial <a href="http://www.uksafari.com/redkites.htm">red kite</a> roost near the village, and 40 of them bring the sky to life with their twists and turns, tails contorting and long wings clawing the air.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jun/08/red-kites-reintroduction">Red kites exported after success of reintroduction programme in Britain</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/03/laxton-kites-claw-back-heritage-country-diary">Continue reading...</a>BirdsWildlifeAnimalsConservationEnvironmentUK newsSpringFri, 03 Mar 2017 05:30:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/03/laxton-kites-claw-back-heritage-country-diaryPhotograph: AnnMarie Jones/BWPA/Natural Engl/PAPhotograph: AnnMarie Jones/BWPA/Natural Engl/PAMatt Shardlow2017-03-03T05:30:37ZThe saltmarsh has its own rich tang of whisky, earth and algaehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/27/country-diary-old-hall-marshes-essex-rich-tang
<p><strong>Old Hall Marshes, Essex:</strong> Outside the seawall the sombre estuarine mud is densely carved into curled knolls</p><p>A tongue of land borrowed from the mouth of the Blackwater estuary. Inside the mile-long V of grassy banks that exclude the sea the tamed land is riven by the contorted veins of once-tidal channels, now filled with freshwater. Today they are frozen into wide, snaking sheets of white. The khaki reeds that fringe the ice blend into fields of dead grass dotted with the greener humps of ancient yellow meadow ant hills.<br></p><p>Outside the seawall the sombre estuarine mud is densely carved into curled knolls by the dendritic tidal excavations. The higher areas are carpeted with a wiry mat of grey-leaved sea purslane, while the exposed mud in the channels is criss-crossed by probing redshank, grey plover and curlew. Between these two zones horizontal rims of salty ice mark the last two nights’ high tides. The air is largely still, under a blue sky, but bears the rich salty reek of saltmarsh, a mixture of whisky, earth and algae. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/aug/26/science.highereducation">Wild goose chase that led to an Inuit's freezer</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/27/country-diary-old-hall-marshes-essex-rich-tang">Continue reading...</a>CoastlinesWinterPlantsEssexUK newsRiversEnvironmentBirdsBirdwatchingWildlifeAnimalsRural affairsFri, 27 Jan 2017 05:30:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/27/country-diary-old-hall-marshes-essex-rich-tangPhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2017-01-27T05:30:17ZThe snap of a twig, the running of the deerhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/23/snap-twig-running-deer-country-diary-fermyn-woods-northamptonshire
<p><strong>Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire</strong> I watch them through thickets of interwoven hazel and birch as they make their getaway</p><p></p><p>Crack! A stick snaps a little distance to my right. Too big a snap for a small animal. Probably deer-sized, I estimate. I wonder how close I can get to the originator before being detected in the wood’s growing afternoon gloom. I creep away from the muddy path, through snagging brambles and naked hazel. I have advanced 15 meters towards the target when I feel a stick give under my foot and an inevitable, and similar, “crack” resonates through the still hush. Instantly, three young <a draggable="true" href="https://www.bds.org.uk/index.php/advice-education/species/roe-deer">roe deer</a> start from cover 20 metres away; I watch them through, and between, thickets of interwoven hazel and birch as they make their unswerving getaway with a stiff, springing gallop.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/23/snap-twig-running-deer-country-diary-fermyn-woods-northamptonshire">Continue reading...</a>Trees and forestsEnvironmentWinterAnimalsWildlifeRural affairsConservationUK newsFri, 23 Dec 2016 05:30:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/23/snap-twig-running-deer-country-diary-fermyn-woods-northamptonshirePhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2016-12-23T05:30:07ZBerries festoon the quarry reservehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/berries-festoon-the-quarry-reserve
<p><strong>Ketton Quarry, Rutland</strong> Withered stems of white bryony lash together clumps of little red globes hanging in garlands, and hedges blush with hawthorn berries</p><p>The incoming polar air mass and clear night sky produces this year’s heaviest frost. Water crystallises into bristly masses on every surface. The blazing morning sun rapidly scorches most of it away, but in the deepest still hollows of <a href="http://www.lrwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/ketton-quarry/">Ketton quarry</a> the thick, white, dusting endures into the afternoon.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2008/sep/08/wildlife.conservation">Birds and berries: A fertile feast</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/14/country-diary-wenlock-evans-worm-hunters-buzzards-rooks-gulls-haws-badgers">Haws light way for the worm hunters</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/berries-festoon-the-quarry-reserve">Continue reading...</a>AutumnConservationWeatherClimate changeTrees and forestsArchitectureSolar powerEnvironmentUK newsEnergyFri, 25 Nov 2016 05:30:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/berries-festoon-the-quarry-reservePhotograph: Matt ShardlowPhotograph: Matt ShardlowMatt Shardlow2016-11-25T05:30:54ZTour England's countryside in one London gardenhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/27/tour-of-the-uk-in-a-hidden-london-garden-country-diary
<p><strong>Natural History Museum, London </strong>A short walk takes you on a wildlife journey that would otherwise take days of travel</p><p>What would it look like if you tried to compress the English countryside into a 6,000 sq m metropolitan plot? Well, the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/wildlife-garden.html">wildlife garden</a> at the Natural History Museum is as close to achieving the experience as is possible. A short perambulation takes you on a wildlife journey that would otherwise take days of travelling. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/26/exuberance-wildlife-undrained-fen-country-diary-cambridgeshire">An exuberance of life on the undrained fen</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/27/tour-of-the-uk-in-a-hidden-london-garden-country-diary">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentRural affairsUK newsWildlifeInsectsAnimalsLondonGardensLife and styleConservationThu, 27 Oct 2016 04:30:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/27/tour-of-the-uk-in-a-hidden-london-garden-country-diaryPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoMatt Shardlow2016-10-27T04:30:12Z